Question: Distortion Pedal Recommendations

baimun said:
@Mark Wein ... I'm looking for something to add some spank to a clean channel for funky clean solos. You think the Sparkle drive is the right thing for that, or is that too much of a distortion pedal? I was also thinking that or one of those TC spark booster or something. I don't just want a clean volume boost (I have that) or a distortion pedal... looking for something inbetween.
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Actually the Zvex Super Hard On pedal would do something like that if you don't have the gain cranked up. Or the Voodoo Lab Giggity.
 
The Orange has a fantastic clean channel, and a smouldering gain channel, but some cover tunes need that funky clean + a little edge.
 
baimun said:
The Orange has a fantastic clean channel, and a smouldering gain channel, but some cover tunes need that funky clean + a little edge.
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I knew for a fact that the SHO would do that for you. The Giggity was kinda made for that stuff although I've never tried one. The Wampler compressor also has a tone control that could help dial in te sound you are looking for although I don't like using compressors for funk guitar.
 
I love the SHO, and the Super Duper is everything I could have asked for in a boost pedal. Last week in rehearsal, I played through a roached out Bogner Shiva. It did not like my tremolo pedal at all and heavily cut the signal. Used the clean side of the Super Duper as a buffer, and the problem went away. The amp even sounded less like shit than before. And I still had the dirty side of the SD as a boost. Glad I bought it.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. A guy listed a Jackhammer on CL today for a good price, and I'm going to get it. We're going to meet on Sunday (assuming he doesn't flake on me or sell it to someone else before then). If that doesn't pan out, then I'll probably get a used MXR 78 Badass. I don't play out, and really don't need all that the Wampler has to offer (tempting as it is).
 
Funny. I put my jackhammer back on the board today. I was watching some rockabilly videos and wanted that natural just-breaking-up sound. It does straight-up crunchy well but it's really my go-to pedal for a pushed clean.

My advice is to ignore the Dist mode and the contour control. Put it in OD mode - there's plenty of crunch there - and turn the contour controls all the way to zero to disable them. Then treat it like any dirt box.
 
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